Andrei Alekseyenko: Crimean Bridge to Stimulate Economic Growth

Krasnodar, 25 May – Yug Times. Our today’s interviewee is Andrei Alekseyenko, First Vice Governor of the Krasnodar region, reflects upon the renovation plans in Krasnodar. “In order to change the situation in [Krasnodar’s] Muzykalny neighbourhood, it should be pulled down and re-built anew. Our emergency services know that in an emergency case, for instance, a fire, it may quickly spread upon neighbouring blocks. We had such situation in the winter of 2017. This is why, we constantly control the situation.

“The city authorities do work on elementary improvement of the neighbourhood. There are projects on the roads and water supply there - but it will be impossible to turn it into a comfortable place for living. I hope that in future the Muzykalny neighbourhood will be pulled down, the people will re-settle, and something good for the city, say, a park, will be built on the site.”

Q.: Can Moscow’s renovation experience be applied to the Muzykalny neighbourhood and Krasnodar on the whole?

A.: In Krasnodar, there are many residential communities that need renovation. For instance, the city’s central part, where there are houses with facilities outside. But even if Moscow’s renovation experience would be applied in Krasnodar, its downtown would not be built over - it must remain as a historical part of the city, and become a green zone in future.

If money from the federal budget would be assigned for renovation, Krasnodar would be the first on the list. It would be hardly possible to do such large-scale renovation at the city’s own cost. Where we should start is the worst neighbourhoods - with elementary facilities lacking and century-old houses. What I am speaking of is not architectural monuments that should be handed over to governmental institutions, say, museums, rather than keep them as residential houses.